Made-for-TV movie review: As You Like It (HBO)
08/20/07 04:55 PM
Premiering: Tuesday night, Aug. 21 at 8 p.m. (central) on HBO
Starring: Kevin Kline, Bryce Dallas Howard, Adrian Lester, Alfred Molina, Brian Blessed, Romoia Garai, David Oyelowo, Janet McTeer
Directed and produced by: Kenneth Branagh
By ED BARK
Not to reinforce any stereotypes, but no pro football linemen will be watching HBO's lilting and lengthy adaptation of Shakespeare's As You Like It.
Nor will lumberjacks, NASCAR drivers, tobacco chewers, X Games competitors or Homer Simpson.
Frankly, this two hour, 10-minute Kenneth Branagh-directed "feelgood romantic comedy" didn't make my cup runneth over either. It's not exactly your classic guy entertainment, but there's certainly no harm in it. It's just that, well, I'd rather watch even House Hunters on HGTV.
Set largely in an enchanted forest, As You Like It amounts to a series of loves at first sights and ends up seeming a lot like Whoville after the Grinch melted down. Everyone's singing a very gooey, happy tune as the string section plays merrily away. Otherwise there are some amusing interludes, a little danger afoot and one of Shakespeare's most famous passages, "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players."
The principal love match, which takes a good deal of time to percolate, is between Duke Senior's daughter, Rosalind (Bryce Dallas Howard), and the festering Orlando (David Oyelowo). He's earmarked to be killed by his older, jealous brother, Oliver (Adrian Lester). But the plot is thwarted when Orlando lives to fight another day while also becoming instantly enchanted by Rosalind.
Ah, but Rosalind is banished by Duke Senior's nasty brother, Duke Frederick (both roles played by Brian Blessed) after a palace coup. She disguises herself as a man -- although not even remotely convincingly -- and runs off to the Forest of Arden with Frederick's daughter, Celia (Romola Garai).
Kevin Kline is also in the woods as Duke Senior's resident moody philosopher, Jaques. Orlando likewise soon is also in this mix, failing to recognize the love of his life because she is, after all, wearing a boy's cap. And so on.
Branagh, a longtime Shakespeare buff, has decided to set As You Like It in 19th century Japan. This allows for a samurai invasion in the opening scene, even if it's a pretty tame one. In press materials, Branagh says he wanted to "ensure that our story was not too soft and easy. There has to be a possibility of disaster in order to heighten the dramatic stakes."
As he likes it, I guess. Branagh has a tendency to distance his cameras too far from his actor's lengthy discourses. But his adaptation has winning performances from Howard and Oyelowo as Rosalind and Orlando. It's also brightened by Alfred Molina's comedic touches as court jester Touchstone.
Those who stay the course might find themselves slowly but surely entertained if not ever entirely entranced. It's a long pull, though, and Shakespeare remains an acquired taste despite these lo and many adaptations of his works.
Grade: B-minus
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